Jane Lynch's Little Secret

The Glee star says what she really thinks about fame, and more.

By Patti Greco

Photograph: Photo by: PR Photos

As the cutthroat cheerleading coach on Fox’s musical comedy Glee, Jane Lynch delivers one-liners that will make you laugh and cringe at the same time ("Once when I needed to make weight for a cheerleading tournament, I had an elective hysterectomy"). She’s also had scene-stealing roles in films such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Here, she drops a few real life zingers:

To play Sue Sylvester, I channel . . . a theater professor I had at Illinois State. She ruled by shame and humiliation. I wanted her to notice me, but I was not even on her radar.

A secret I’ve kept—until now . . . I always wanted to be famous. You’re not supposed to want to be famous. You’re also supposed to want to go back to the theater—me, not so much.

The craziest thing I’ve done for work . . . I had to handle a rat as a lab technician [on the series Night Stalker]. It kept biting me, and they insisted that we keep shooting. Then they’re calling me the next week, "Have you gotten a tetanus shot?" They wanted to make sure they weren’t going to get sued.

The best thing about my life now . . . I have so much more compassion for myself. That was not even the case five years ago.